More families have chosen to forgo the traditional K-12 classroom experience and homeschool their children in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But given the nature of homeschooling — for which the specifics of curriculum, class time and assignments can vary widely from one family to another — it can be challenging for homeschooled students to demonstrate college readiness to admissions officers.
“For students applying from public or private high schools, we are able to have an understanding of the high school and how the student may compare to their peers,” says Rachel Morales, director of admissions at the University of Southern Maine. “But for a homeschool student, we don’t have that.”
On the other hand, being homeschooled can help applicants stand out.
“A homeschool student will naturally bring a very different experience to the table,” Lori Greene, vice president for enrollment management at Butler University in Indiana, wrote in an email. “Many universities look for different backgrounds and experiences to enhance the overall educational experience and community aspect.”
Here’s what homeschooled students should do to prepare for both the application process and college life.
Tips for Applying to College as a Homeschooled Student
Understand Admissions Requirements
Every college has its own admissions requirements for homeschooled students. Some want students to fill out a supplemental form detailing their learning experiences, while others request official test scores, like the SAT or ACT.
It’s important to do your research, Greene says.
[Read: Avoid These Big College Application Mistakes.]
Butler, for instance, “practices a review of the whole student background,” she wrote in an email. “We aim to find students who are challenging themselves with demanding courses and educational experiences, individuals with cultural awareness and unwavering character, students with outstanding leadership and/or projects that have made an impact in their communities, and individuals who display grit and determination.”
Provide Context in Your Application
While most colleges don’t have a separate application for homeschooled students, they may require additional academic information. Families should be prepared to provide a detailed syllabus for each class and explain the grade equivalency. If the classes were not taught by the parent, list the educational provider.
“Colleges may still raise an eyebrow at a homeschool transcript regardless of who issues it,” says Yvonne Padilla, principal of Thrive Home School Academy in Colorado, an enrichment program for homeschool families. She recommends students create a robust portfolio — including writing samples, exams and other work — to demonstrate what they’ve learned.
Applicants should also explain any extracurricular activities they participate in. “Colleges and universities want well-rounded young adults. For any high school graduate, they want to see demonstrated participation in activities outside themselves to include extracurriculars and volunteerism,” Padilla says.
Show Off Other Academic Markers
Homeschooling grades on their own “don’t really mean that much because they are given by parents and they don’t help schools benchmark your intellectual aptitudes against other applicants,” says Marlow Bull, senior consultant at Admissionado, a college admissions consulting firm. Therefore, students may want to provide other markers to showcase their academic and intellectual abilities.
[Read: What to Know About College Early Action and Early Decision]
For instance, experts advise homeschooled students to take advantage of dual enrollment courses at local community colleges. These classes allow students to earn both high school and college credit while demonstrating their readiness for college-level work.
“That can give us some really good information about how they might function in a classroom setting, along with their homeschool work and what their activities are,” Morales says.
Avoid Letters of Recommendation From Family
A recommendation letter should not be written by an applicant’s parents, even if they are instructors, according to many experts.
“Even if they have the best perspective on you as a student and a human being, (admissions counselors) will not consider your parents’ assessment of your abilities reliable,” Bull says. “You will be much better served by letter-writers who know you less well than your parents, but can speak to your accomplishments more impartially, in a good way. They can still be invested in you as a person, but they’re not your parent.”
The person writing the recommendation letter could be a professor from a community college course, a coach or an employer.
“Find people that are going to share things about you that are not part of what you’ve shared with (admissions officers) already,” says Marcus Cooper, executive director of undergraduate recruitment and outreach at Texas A&M University. “It shouldn’t mimic or mirror what you discussed in your essay.”
Build a Network of Support
Unlike public and private high school students, homeschooled students don’t have counselors on site to address concerns or questions about the college application process. But admissions offices can serve as a resource for students.
Additionally, there are many homeschool associations and online groups that families can join to share advice with one another.
How to Adjust to College Life as a Homeschooled Student
Stepping onto campus for the first time can be intimidating for any first-year student, not just those who were homeschooled. However, homeschooled students may face unique academic and social challenges.
There’s a “real variety of homeschool experiences that students have,” says Stephanie Carter, director of the academic center for excellence and the writing center at Bryant University in Rhode Island. “Some may be coming from really structured, highly organized experiences in homeschooling, where for others it may have been much more flexible.”
They may have less experience with working on group projects or taking classes in large lecture-halls, she says.
[Read: Nonacademic Factors to Consider When Choosing a College]
To help with the academic adjustment, college students should take advantage of every resource on campus, such as the office hours of a professor, tutoring and writing centers, and career services.
“You are not alone,” Bull says. “There will probably be other homeschooled kids in your incoming class. There are also a lot of students who weren’t homeschooled but come from small communities or rural towns who may be having similar experiences. You have much more in common with your peers in college than you have different.”
It’s also important to find a routine in college, experts say. Carter recommends using the 888 formula, which splits a 24-hour day into three parts. This means students should spend eight hours sleeping, eight hours focused on academic work — going to class, doing homework, working with a tutor — and eight hours on other activities, like attending club meetings, exercising or socializing with friends.
Going to college, “they need to look at all of their time during the day and recognize that even if they are not in class, that isn’t necessarily free time. It’s time for them to be working on their academics,” Carter says. “They could be reading, studying, learning.”
When it comes to socializing, students should surround themselves with peers who uplift and challenge them, Bull says.
“If people are pressuring you into stuff you don’t want to do or you are not sure about, never assume that they know better because you were homeschooled and they weren’t,” Bull adds. “Never let anybody make you feel like you are somehow missing the shared assumptions that everybody has. You can still rely on knowledge and intuition, and find people that you trust.”
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How to Apply and Adjust to College as a Homeschooled Student originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/30/24: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
